Children’s books have been placed in seat pockets of easyJet aircraft to encourage youngsters to read more.

More than 17,500 copies of books translated into seven European languages will be stocked across 300 planes this summer.

Kid Normal, Peter Pan, Alice In Wonderland and The Jungle Book are among the titles available.

Once the flights land, children will be able to download free samples of books and enter a writing competition.

Research commissioned to mark the launch of the so-called flying libraries found that almost two out of five (38%) parents say their child has fewer than 10 books at home, and a typical British child aged between six and 12 has not visited a public library in more than six months.

EasyJet’s director of cabin crew, Tina Milton, said: “Reading is so important for fuelling a child’s development, vocabulary and imagination and a flight provides the perfect opportunity for them to get stuck into a book.”

Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, which is supporting the scheme, added: “Getting books into the hands of children, and helping them discover a love of reading, can set them on the path to a more successful future.”

Bloomsbury Children’s Books and Alma Books are helping to stock the aircraft, while BBC Radio 1 DJs Greg James and Chris Smith, who wrote Kid Normal, are ambassadors for the project.

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